At the McGill Faculty of Science, our students and faculty members live to create and discover. Many people don’t realize that the process of coming up with new ideas, testing them, retesting them, and pursuing the ideas that arise from these tests is every bit as creative as engaging in music or the visual arts. Within our Faculty, this creativity has never been limited by intelligence. Our students are bright and inquisitive, following in the footsteps of their equally gifted professors. The only limit to their creativity is having access to the funding that is needed to express that creativity. For the past 25 years, the Science Opportunities Fund (formerly known as the Heroes of Science Fund) has played an indispensable role in filling the gaps.
Through supporting the Science Opportunities Fund, you make creative ideas take flight through funding critical research, acknowledging excellent scholarship, and connecting our students to the wider scientific community in powerful ways.
First, the Science Opportunities Fund meets the real needs of world-class researchers. The COVID-19 pandemic has perfectly illustrated the need for agility in funding critical research. Typically, the funding cycle for scientific research involves months or even years of identifying grant programs, completing detailed applications, and securing funding for research. When a researcher does receive a grant, they lack the flexibility to pivot to a new research direction. In the time of COVID-19, our researchers don’t have time to wait. The Science Opportunities Fund bridges the divide between idea and execution.
The Science Opportunities Fund also gives a boost to outstanding students. Every summer, we fund two Science Undergraduate Research Awards for psychology students who don’t fit the profile of traditional science scholars. They use the funding they receive to conduct social empowerment research with a particular focus on equity in science, demonstrating that the research that enriches our community does not always take place in a lab. Outside of scholarships, I often receive funding requests from students with innovative research or product ideas. All they need is a slight boost to take the first step.
Finally, the Science Opportunities Fund creates vital opportunities for our students to connect to scientific communities outside of McGill. Every year, I receive funding requests from several students to attend an international conference that brings thousands of Black students in science and engineering together. Our students return energized by the life-changing opportunity to learn from peers and mentors in a larger community.
If you have supported the Science Opportunities Fund at any point in time, you have created opportunity where it didn’t exist before. You play a pivotal role in addressing the funding shortages that hamper scientific innovation and keep the most talented students and researchers in our community from reaching their full potential. Thank you for believing in the creative possibilities of the McGill Faculty of Science. Thank you for filling the gaps.
R. Bruce Lennox
Dean, Faculty of Science
Tomlinson Professor of Chemistry